For Senior Staff Writer Chris "Pwyff" Tom, a strong PvP feature may be one of the most important features of any good MMORPG. But what makes for a good PvP experience? Read on to find out!

One big problem I currently have with our modern day interpretation of instanced PvP is that they're more about rewarding quantity than quality. Games like League of Legends and Heroes of Newerth are so addictive because they reward great play on a short term basis. If you can do well in the first ten minutes of the game, the extra items make you stronger and give your champion more depth. Most MMORPGs, however, grant PvP rewards for the simple act of participation, and it can get rather frustrating when you play your heart out for three games at the top of your team, only to realize that someone else is getting the same amount, but he's watching movies and running around mindlessly. It's easy to get burned out when that happens.

The MMORPGs that I believe have the best instanced PvP scenarios are usually the ones that reward quality of play over quantity. World of Warcraft's arena PvP is the best in the business largely because it rewards good players who can spare a few hours a week playing their very best games. Reducing the number of players allows for a greater sense of individual contribution, without skimping on the overall rewards. 

Another form of instanced PvP I really enjoyed - and I'll probably get mocked for this - was Final Fantasy XI's Ballista system, in spite of Square Enix's complete lack of support. In Ballista, players can dig ("quarry") for random beneficial items and "petras," the latter necessary for scoring points. In order to score points, however, players must have a status called "gate breach," which is only granted when a nearby enemy on the opposing team is killed. 

After getting gate breach status, players must then find a nearby goal, called a "rook," where they can score up to five of their held petras. The gate breach status then wears off until another kill is scored. Scoring also takes time and can be interrupted by any damage taken, making it nearly impossible to score a point with a vigilant opponent nearby.

What made Ballista so fascinating was that it accommodated all types of players and had some great depth beyond simply capturing a flag. Petras, for example, took time to accumulate, and dying made you drop them all, so they were a valuable commodity. On the other hand, players who had zero petras also had access to a sprint command every 30 seconds, thereby making them offensive threats because they could run in, deal tons of damage, and then sprint out. Ultimately, this forced players to choose between storing a lot of petras (and risk losing them all on death), or trying to stay with zero petras so that they can use sprint (but being unable to fully capitalize on achieving gate breach status). Ballista also had numerous level capped brackets, and, at one point, there was a small, tight-knit community of North American and Japanese Ballista-ites who had purchased multiple sets of equipment for each bracket. What was even more impressive was that there were no real tangible rewards for Ballista, except for minor class achievements. 

A final MMORPG that I believe implemented a strong instanced PvP system was Atlantica Online, which was unique both in its presentation (turn-based combat) and its approach to instanced PvP. In Atlantica Online, players can participate in "free league" competitions that occur every few hours, where they can compete in up to seven 1v1 matches against equally matched opponents. Winning matches gives you points and money and, if you win enough, you'll be moved up a tier. What made Atlantica Online's instanced PvP so remarkable, however, lay in its overall design. With a fully functioning spectator system, PvP enthusiasts could watch their favourite top-tier competitors facing off in the free leagues to protect their global standings. As well, every two weeks there was a Titan League competition, where players from all servers hopped onto a boat to the special server to take part in (or to simply watch) an immense battle royal between the best players in the game.

In the end, while all of the above MMORPGs had some great ideas at work with their PvP systems. It all really comes down to the next topic in my series: Community. You can boast about having the most unique PvP concepts in the world, but at the end of the day, it's still about the players. One of the greatest appeals about playing in PvP games is that you're playing against another human being who wants to win just as badly as you do. PvP is all about being surprised or surprising your opponents with tricky moves and unique tactics that pre-scripted enemies just can't offer. This is going to sound dumb, but if you're going to take one lesson away from all of this, it's this: PvP is about people playing against other people, and if your system doesn't focus on that interaction, you might be doing something wrong.

Next time, I'll take about MMORPG Communities!